episode_0040
by fnovelpiaA few days passed after my conversation with Father Peter.
All this time, my mind was full of thoughts about Father Giovanni’s fingers, and I was desperate to break free from this annoying situation.
“Substitute Sophia.”
“Yes?”
Deacon Sophia, who was working hard in the classroom, turned to me. I stared into her eyes.
There are demons in the Academy. Three of them, at that.
Should I tell this fact? I looked at Deacon Sophia and pondered.
‘…let’s not say it.’
And the conclusion was to keep my mouth shut. I didn’t want to bring up the subject and cause trouble.
Deacon Sophia is a recent graduate of the priestly academy and, to be precise, is still only a young priest.
Since one of the conditions for being possessed by a demon is to be aware of the existence of those demons, I had no intention of making her aware of the dangerous existence of demons.
If you were to perform an exorcism, you would need someone to act as a deacon, but even if a possessed person appeared within the Academy, there was no need to involve Deacon Sophia. It would be better to perform the exorcism together with Father Peter.
“Why did you call me?”
While I was thinking about this and that, Deacon Sophia suddenly stopped what she was doing and stared at me.
I said, pretending to be indifferent.
“Nothing. Sorry.”
“Chief Priest. Do you believe in a woman’s intuition?”
“… I don’t believe it.”
“I believe it.”
Deacon Sophia stood up vigorously from her seat and slowly approached my desk. Her confident steps were truly terrifying.
“So, what’s going on this time?”
“… … .”
“Aha. That’s hard for you to explain?”
I’m starting to get a little confused, wondering if there really is such a thing as a woman’s intuition.
“It’s really nothing.”
“Hmm… .”
Those eyes staring at me are burdensome. I turn my head slightly and check the clock on the wall.
“Ah, time has passed so quickly… .”
As I was being held captive by Deacon Sophia, the time for my appointment with Father Camilla was approaching. I quickly got up from my chair.
“Oh my. So that’s how you get out?”
“… That’s not it.”
“Okay, I’ll pretend I didn’t hear anything.”
I left the professor’s office, leaving Deacon Sophia behind, who was giggling, closing her eyes tightly and covering her ears.
* * * * *
The chapel of the main academy was still quiet. Only a few theology professors and students praying inside the chapel recognized me and nodded their heads to greet me.
I accepted their greetings and walked towards the parish priest’s office.
My steps as I climb the stairs are heavy. As I walk down the path to the parish priest’s office, I am reminded of my first meeting with Father Camilla.
Today’s meeting is my second encounter with Priest Camilla.
Almost a month had passed since my first meeting with her. I let out a deep sigh and quickened my pace.
As I was walking, I noticed two people standing in front of the parish priest’s office. They were Father Peter and Father Camilla.
As I approached, Father Peter sensed my presence and turned his gaze in my direction.
“Oh, your high priest. Are you here?”
“Hello… .”
Just like Father Peter, Father Camilla lowered her head with a bashful expression. I silently took the key out of my bosom and opened the door to the parish priest’s office.
“Come in.”
“Excuse me.”
“shi, excuse me… .”
The parsonage wasn’t much different from before. Deacon Sophia and I came here from time to time to clean it.
I naturally started preparing black tea. For my portion, I prepared a cheap black tea bag, and for Father Camilla and Father Peter, I prepared the expensive black tea that Professor Esther had forced upon them earlier.
The scent of black tea wafted faintly through the priest’s office. After handing the tea to the two of them, I took my share and sat down at the head of the sofa.
“The black tea tastes really good.”
“No big deal.”
Father Peter was enjoying his black tea with a friendly expression. After taking a sip of the bitter black tea, I turned my head towards Father Camilla.
Priest Camilla awkwardly rolled her eyes as she met my gaze. I stared at her eyes.
“Camilla Priest.”
As I opened my mouth, her body flinched and shook.
Seeing her reaction like that, my eyebrows furrowed a little. I wasn’t the one eating it, so I wondered why she was reacting so sensitively.
“… Yes.”
Priest Camilla hesitated and then answered. I spoke to her calmly.
“Did you say you wanted to meet me?”
Priest Camilla nodded silently. I glanced at her complexion.
Her eyes were hollow and dark shadows hung under them. Judging by her slightly bloodshot eyes, her condition looked like that of someone who hadn’t had enough rest in the past few days.
“I heard from Father Peter that he is having trouble sleeping.”
“Yes. That’s right, right… .”
Priest Camilla, clutching her sleeve tightly. She looked uneasy, as if she was afraid that someone would chase her.
“Is that why you want to consult?”
“Yes. Similar.”
“First, can you explain what happened to you?”
Priest Camilla took a sip of her tea. The warm tea seemed to calm her down a little.
“I, I… . took part in the Great War.”
“Yes, I know.”
“Ah, that…! What I just said was, I just meant it! I didn’t mean to insult the head priest!”
I made a slightly subtle expression. Her attitude, which had seemed impudent and even rude, had changed in a truly surprising way.
In fact, it was not that I had no ill feelings towards her at all. Even leaving other things aside, it was an undeniable fact that she had insulted me without thinking about the consequences.
However, that doesn’t mean I have the heart to harass someone who is in such a state of anxiety. I’m not a narrow-minded adult or a childish child, nor am I someone who holds a grudge.
The expression on her face as she timidly looked up at me was so unfamiliar. I spoke softly to her as she fidgeted.
“I’m fine. Please continue talking.”
“Ah… . Thank you. And, about that time… . I’m really sorry. I sincerely apologize… .”
“… Priest Camilla. There is no progress in the story. I am really fine, so don’t worry too much.”
Her attitude was surprisingly timid, more so than I had imagined. It was hard to see it as a good change. What on earth had she gone through to become so obedient?
“I… . Ever since I came to the academy, I’ve been suffering from auditory hallucinations every night.”
“Hallucination?”
Father Camilla nodded. I indicated with a nod that he should continue speaking.
“So… . To be exact, when I was fighting in the Great War, there were sounds I occasionally heard… . For example, the screams of wounded soldiers. I can’t sleep because I keep hearing those sounds.”
“… Hmm. Hasn’t that happened before?”
“Yes. At that time, I saw many injuries that were hard to look at, and the shock was quite great, but it wasn’t to the extent that the aftereffects were this severe.”
I felt a little envious of her. I wish I could have been like that. I frowned a little without realizing it.
“Let’s get past the story about the Great War as quickly as possible.”
“Oh, yes. So… .”
To summarize her story, it was like this.
Every night I hear auditory hallucinations. The sounds are mostly the screams of wounded soldiers that I heard during the Great War.
If we really look into it, it was a factor that could arise as a result of psychological trauma, but this was the first time I had seen the symptoms appear so many years later.
“But, they are not just simple hallucinations.”
“Isn’t this just a hallucination?”
“… This happened just last week.”
Priest Camilla began to speak with a serious expression. I took my chin off the hand that was resting on it and began to concentrate on what she was saying.
As I talked to her, I could tell.
Something smells. A very bad stench.
“That day, as usual, I was tossing and turning in bed because I was hallucinating. I couldn’t fall asleep like that, and then I started hallucinating again. But that was the first time I heard something other than the screams of the wounded soldiers.”
“What was that sound?”
“The sound of dishes clanking, the sound of something hard being chewed, the sound of a crow croaking… I think it was something like that.”
“… Three sounds.”
“Yes.”
I looked at Priest Peter, who had been listening to the story in silence. Priest Peter nodded with a serious expression.
The unidentified noises that Priest Camilla heard were of three types.
And coincidentally, the number of demons believed to remain in the Chaldea Imperial Academy is exactly three.
The story of Priest Camilla continued.
“And then, when I looked back… . There was something unidentifiable in my room. As soon as I made eye contact with it, I woke up again.”
“So, that all happened in a dream?”
“… I’m not sure about that.”
“Where was it?”
“That… . That’s… . Ah, um… .”
“… … ?”
Priest Camilla’s reaction was a little awkward. I asked her again.
“Where exactly was it in the dorm room?”
“Where was that…?”
“… Were you in the living room?”
“No. Was it a bedroom…?”
“… … .”
The rooms in the faculty dormitory were arranged in a way that the beds were placed in one corner of a large living room. There were no separate bedrooms.
“You mean the bedroom, not the living room?”
“Oh, the living room. Right. The living room.”
“In the living room, where were you located?”
“Ugh… .”
Priest Camilla was troubled again. I couldn’t understand what was bothering her so much.
She was silent for a moment, then suddenly began to look around the priest’s office. Her finger soon pointed to a certain place.
“What was that thing called?”
“Are you talking about the wall clock?”
“Ah, that’s right. A wall clock.”
“You were under there?”
Father Camilla nodded. I changed the question a little.
“Um… . That unidentifiable thing. Do you remember what it looks like?”
“Uh….”
Priest Camilla began to scratch her head and think for a moment. I calmly waited for her to speak.
“So… What did it look like…?”
“… Yes?”
“Come to think of it again, I don’t think that happened.”
“… … .”
I looked into the eyes of Priest Camilla. Her eyes were also looking straight at me.
It was a complete contrast to his previous timid attitude.
I glanced at Father Peter. He was still nodding with a serious expression on his face.
I looked at Priest Camilla again. She was still staring at me.
I looked at Father Peter. He was nodding with a serious expression.
…I didn’t even make a single glance, move, or say anything.
He was just nodding. Slowly. Not too slow, not too fast.
“… We will end today’s consultation here.”
“Already?”
Priest Camilla smacked his lips as if he was sorry. I nodded and sent them both away.
“Next time, I think it would be better to continue the consultation. I have something urgent to think about.”
“Ah… . I can’t help it.”
After even Father Peter, who had expressed regret, stood up from his seat, I saw them off with my usual expression.
As naturally as possible.
Priest Camilla had a very regretful expression until the very end.
“Then, let’s go now.”
“Please contact us again next time.”
I nodded silently. Only then did Father Peter and Father Camilla leave for the dormitory.
“… … .”
I headed back to the parish priest’s office. My steps were getting faster.
Boom! Crunch.
After returning to the parish office, I quickly closed the door and locked it. A quiet silence enveloped the parish office.
He slowly rolled up the sleeves of his priest’s robe. As he stroked his skin, a goosebump-inducing sensation was felt.
I muttered softly.
“… It’s not three, it’s four.”
I really didn’t feel like it, but now I needed Deacon Sophia’s help.
Because we realized that the time given to us is not that much.
Suddenly, I looked at the wall clock. The hands were pointing to 2:59 PM.
It was just before three o’clock.
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